Let's support each other on our weight loss journey!
Hello to you wonderful people!
I am Linda from NH and am looking for some people willing to chat and support each other while on Weight Watchers. I am making a challenge to stay on program as best as you can, drink your water, exercise!
What I would love to see here is posting every day, if you can, to this thread and cheering each other on. But, if you "slip" true confessions here as well, so we can help and work as a team.
Starting weight eight weeks ago 162.4
Current weight at this week's ww weigh in 154.2
Totol loss 8 pounds
Goal weight 136
I'm here with you Linda and Chach. Hope the rest of the gang and the old gang and some new members join our gang.
This weekend will be another challenge. Going to the racetrack on Sunday with our son and daughter-in-law. We go a few times during the season here and then out to a favorite restaurant for dinner. I am trying to be on track today and tomorrow so I can induldge on Sunday. But I really want to get back on Monday as if it is the first day again. Planning on getting back on the treadmill also. How easy it is to let it go.
Great to see you guys here!
I really am proud of myself that I ended the day using JUST my points target and no flex points. I did a half hour body sculpting tape (boy am I sore today!) and my usual 20 minutes on the treadmill. I am still UP two pounds since my ww weigh in on Tuesday and really have to be very good before next Tuesday rolls around.
My 13 year old daughter, Jamie, just started on ww last week. I need to set a good example for her as well. I'm very proud of her for taking this step.
We just ordered on line a video game called Dance Revolution for her for her X Box game. It comes with a foot pad vs. a hand controller. In order to play the game, you have to dance! So, I hope she likes the game and gets some exercise. I'm a bit dissappointed in her this week as she is already not exercising as she said she would, but it's only two days and she needs to adjust her life style - which was totally opposite. At least she fillled in her journal last night!
We are supposed to dine out tonight with friends and I have requested that we go to a place where I can order something point friendly. I also offered to be the designated driver! No way will I be drinking and adding all those points this weekend!
Hope you are all successful.
Would be great if we could have several people committed to supporting each other on this thread. Dotti and Chach are great people and we would love to share our successes and failures with you. I think sharing the failures is just as important as the successes. No one understands better than us. And, with a group like this "true confessions" are totally the right thing to do. We know, as we've been there and are STILL there!
I would like to challenge you all in the upcoming week.....
Take some time to do a special thing for yourself, a true treat that is not food related! Make it something you will enjoy, like a manicure (if you are into those) or finally buying those new towels you want to finally match your house, but you didn't want to spend the money on, etc. Go for it.
Also, try some mental visualization. If you are feeling stressed. Stop what you are doing. Sit down and picture yourself in a special place that you love.... like a beach at sunset, etc. Take five minutes out of your stressful day and give yourself some peace. Then, drink a glass of water and move on.... Try it!
Linda in NH
i would like to join your group-i re-joined WW (meetings & e-tools) on June 1. so far down 7.8#, but this week has been crazy...today is the first day since tuesday I have eaten at my target points range. last night I had an all out binge. travelling for work wed & thur made it easy to go overboard....
feeling discouraged and stressed (wedding planning & the wedding is still over a year away!)
so this type of group is exactly what I am looking for!!!!
Jenn, welcome and WE are the ones who totally understand! I have a book that I am going to type a segment from, later on, when I have a bit of time. It's actually a book on menopause (and you don't sound that old to think about that for years!!!!) but it has some really good information called something like "The Ten Commandments of De-Stressing your Life". I read it, and nodded my head in total understanding.
Jenn, you and I have the SAME, exact, goal weight! We are both at a stage in weight loss, I think, where the pounds come off very slowly. We can help each other.
If you blow it one day, just take a deep breath and do your best to get right back program the next day and just forgive yourself. I do think that we much remember that if we stay on program, overall, for a large percent of the time, that is what will carry us. A few "indescretions" aren't what will be our downfall, our downfall is not giving up. Dotti, a wonderful person I know from this web site always says "I only fail if I give up" - She's got the spirit!
As for me, I went out last night to dinner with friends. We went to a place called The Muddy River Smokehouse, which was voted Best BBQ in our state! Truly, this was a great place and I could have gone totally wild in there. Here is how I did:
1. Researched the menu on line, knowing full well that if I was confronted with the smell of BBQ and a menu, I'd be in trouble. Really good thing to do!
2. Had only ONE alcoholic beverage and it was a wine spritzer, where they take a shot of wine and mix it with seltzer and lemon and lime twists. Cut's the amount of wine and still you are participating in the spirit of things by having A drink. Then, I went to ice water after finishing that one drink.
2. We all split a plate of nachos at the beginning, I only have TWO! They were awesome, but two was good.
3. I ordered the BBQ chef's salad with fat free dressing. It was really hard not to have BBQ,there, but I did! My husband took pity on me and gave me two of his baby back ribs, so I got the taste, etc.
4. Four people shared one piece of rich chocolate cake. We ordered one dessert and four forks. So, it was awesome, but I only had two bites! (goodness knows what amount of points that would be - I'll give it 3 I think!)
So, I survived. I planned ahead and stuck to what I had planned. I did find that I felt saddened when all the heaping plates of BBQ arrived and it smelled awesome and I had a salad. But, once I started eating, I was ok and my salad was truly delicious!
So, I made it through the day didn't go wild, which is my usual dining out behaviour!
The most important part about this web site, for me, is checking in every day and sharing what is happening in my life as well as sharing what is happening in other people's lives. If we get a few more people joining us, we can be a wonderful weight loss support group/team. We can share the good and the bad, and there will be bad. We can offer understanding and support.
I consider this web site like a mini ww meeting for myself. I go to their weekly meetings and I almost feel liked I get "hypnotized" to make good choices and be all psyched to stay with this. But, I stray during the week and having a group on line is just the thing for me!
Take care and happy Sunday to all.
Please do report your weekly WW weigh in here, post daily to let us know how you are staying on program, share good recipes of low point and wonderful things, etc.!!!!
Linda in Plaistow NH, age 49, two kids, married to an ice creamaholic who never gains a pound!
Starting weight eight weeks ago 162.4
Current weight at this week's ww weigh in 154.2
Totol loss 8 pounds
Goal weight 136
Hi everybody, I like this thread and as I am just returned from my sunny spanish vacation, I need all the help I can get. I think everyone is doing so well,
Linda, you are doing great, and if Jamie can stick with WW for just a couple of weeks, she will soon see that it's worth doing, and that you don't have to avoid everything that we enjoy so much.
I was dreading my holiday, only for the food reasons, I was looking forward to the vacation itself so much, but could not bear the thought of spoiling all my hard work over the last few months. I was careful though, and really enjoyed every minute of my hols, plenty of salads, and running up and down 3 flights of stairs to our apartment should have helped - I hope! The sangria was plentiful, and very tasty, but I tried not to go overboard, although I wasn't actually counting points while away, I found it quite easy to make 'informed' choices at meal times. (Avoiding too many french fries helped probably, the only night I decided to treat myself to some, there were none on the menu!) I'm hoping that I haven't gained more than a pound or so, but WI isn't until wednesday night, so I have got a few days to sort myself out.
I began WW in Jan 2004, weighed 181.5, and so far have lost 32.5, making my pre-vacation weight 149 pounds. I have yet to decide my final goal, but expect to lose around another 21...preferably before Christmas!
I am English, living in Derbyshire, England, a beautiful part of the country. Weight watchers works just as well this side of the Atlantic as it does your side!
Anyway, I'll sign off for now, be back soon though!
HI everyone! Hi Dawn-is Derbyshire anywhere near New Castle? I was there about 3 years ago for a business trip. Our company has an office there. It sounds like you are doing great. Congratulations.
So far today I am still feeling like I am on the verge of a binge. I have 5 points left. I haven't binged yet, but I still feel like it can happen at any time. I was even thinking about heading over to the Panera Bread and getting a cookie or something, but I won't. That won't make me feel any better. and with WI on Tuesday, I really have to watch it, esp. after this last week. I have a feeling I'll maintain this week, or possibly have a .5 or 1 pound loss, which I wuold be happy with! I made it thru yesterday on target w/o a binge! Exercise today-45 min of cardio.
Hi girls, I feel pretty good this morning, I only used 15 points yesterday, and I still went to bed feeling full to bursting! This is a good sign I think, cos I'm on catch-up with all the extra points I must have used on my hols.
Hi Jenn, We are nowhere near Newcastle I'm afraid. It's quite a bit further north than where we are in Chesterfield. I've never been there, but I know alot of people who go there for the fantastic nightlife! I think my clubbing days are long past now, my little AJ (nearly 3), wouldn't stand for it!
Dawn, nice to hear from you. So glad you are back safe and sound from that holiday of yours. Sounds wonderful, and it does sound as if you did "ok" regarding ww during the trip. Even if you did gain a bit, taking a wonderful trip like that is perhaps a once in a lifetime experience that you should truly enjoy!
Jenn, welcome!!!! Did you journal your 15 point day? I would love for you to share, if you don't mind, what you ate for the day that allowed you to go to bed feeling "full"! I think I need to copy your day! Plus, very soon I will pass under the 150 pound mark and have to go from a points target of 20 vs. 22, and I worry if I'll be able to handle that. You do realize, though, that ww suggests that in order to lose weight you really should eat all your points for the day. They say that if you eat less, the body will hold on to the weight as it will think you are in starvation mode. If you eat your full points for the day, your body will recognize that it's not starving, etc. However, I do feel that need to be "under" myself once in awhile if I have to make for going out to dinner, etc. now and then.
I did pretty well yesterday, but I couldn't resist my husband's offer to go out for ice cream after dinner. It was such a lovely evening and it was a great treat. However, I had the SMALL (though there small is large to me, oh well) soft serve chocolate cone. Did anyone realize that soft serve ice cream is made with 2 % milk vs. cream? It's actually less fat and a better choice than frozen yogurt, unless you have the fat free and sugar free FY.
I was not a good girl earlier last week and saw the scale move up two or three pounds after my weigh in last Tuesday. However, I just weighed in this morning without clothing at 151, which is only one pound more than I weighed in last Tuesday morning. I think I can "fix" that one pound today by working out, extra, and being totally on program today, drinking tons of water and also having asparagus (a natural diuretic) at dinner tonight. I have these really nice ham steaks I was thinking of having for dinner this evening, but will be heading out to buy something else, was well, as I don't need that sodium the day before my weigh in! I'll save those for tomorrow night! I'll be happy if I weigh the same, even, after the indulgences! Tomorrow will tell!
I did something for myself yesterday, I bought a sound machine at Radio Shack, it makes nature sounds that can be relaxing to help people fall asleep at night. We moved to this house in December and it's on a busy street. We were on a dead end street before and both my husband and I are having trouble sleeping at night due to traffic going by, and noisy neighbors. Now that school is out for the summer, the kids across the street our outside until 9:30 at night, running around! We go to bed early as my husband gets up at 4:00 am each day. At any rate, I fell asleep last night to the sound of gentle rain, it was kind of nice. I'm not sure if it will help or not, overall, but it was a treat for us! So, I fulfilled my own challenge for the week of doing something nice for myself.
What are YOU all going to do as a special treat? It doesn't have to cost money, it can be something as simple as taking an hour out of your schedule and creating a candle-lit bubble bath with classical music, making your husband take the kids away, etc. so you can really have yourself a special time.
You go girls! Indulge yourselves!
Linda in NH
I mentioned yesterday that I was going to type in the 7 commandments of stress-proof eating for you all. Several people react to stress and it makes all us all overeat from time to time. I really loved this, when I read it. It is quoted from the book, "Everything you need to know about Menopause" put out by Prevention magazine. Again, some of you are not old enough to worry about menopause, but these tips really are helpful and can apply to anyone, no matter what their ages.
Hope they don't mind me sharing one tiny bit of a really huge book with you all!
At any rate, here goes:
Eating right when we're harried, under pressure and generally stressed-out is particularly important because stress affects how we use what we eat. When you're stressed, your body absorbs fewer nutrients even as it excretes more, thus increasing your need for the vitamins and minerals found in nutrient-rich foods. It also ensures that we have the ammunition we need to fight their energy draining effects. Not only can a well-balanced diet help during periods of stress, but how well we eat BEFORE a stressful occasion also plays a role in how we handle that event.
When you're frazzled, you might feel like you only have time to guzzle down a cup of coffee in the morning, while chocolate smothered in chocolate sounds like an appealing lunch. To avoid putting any more stress on you with complicated lists of nutritional guidelines, we've developed the following 7 commandments:
1. Thou Shalt Forgo Coffee. Caffeine only aggravates stress. Just a cup or two of coffee, or any other caffeinated beverage can escalate feeling of anxiety because caffeine directly affects the brain and central nervous system.
2. Thou Shalt Not Skip Meals. When you miss meals, you deprive yourself of the essential building blocks you need to function at your best. For example, if you deprive your body of iron, you may become irritable and tired because an iron deficiency decreases the amount of oxygen going to your tissues and brain.
3. Thou Shalt Eat Breakfast. It's arguably the most important meal. You've just awakened from a long period of fasting, starving your brain of the glucose it needs to function.
4. Thou Shalt Strive for Balance. Research shows that when we eat meals with a high carbohydrate-to-protein ratio, we increase the amount of tryptophan available to our brains. Tryptophan is an amino acid required to manufacture serotonin, a brain chemical that has a calming influence--a plus when we are under stress.
5. Thou Shalt Choose the Right Carbohydrate. To get the right building blocks you need to function at peak levels, the focus should be on complex carbohydrates such a whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Sugary simple carbohydrates, such a candy and sodas, provide little in the way of nutrients and are really just wasted calories. Also, as sugar intake rises, you enter dangerous territory because vitamin and mineral intake decreases, increasing your susceptibility to the negative effects of stress.
6. Thou Shalt Not Ignore Fats. All fat is not "bad" fat. In fact, our bodies actually require some fat in order to survive. But the type of fat you eat is important, especially when you're stressed. Saturated fats (found in red meat, full-fat dairy, and other animal products) and trans fatty acids (found in processed and fast foods, usually in the form of partially hydrogenated oils) can suppress your immune system and raise levels of stress hormones such a cortisol. So when you're stressed, focus on healthy fats, like monounsaturated fats found in olives and canola oils and the omega-3 fatty acids found in cold -water fish such as salmon and mackerel. These fats won't aggravate the stress response, and the omega-3s may even boost your immunity, a plus during tense times. Still, that's not a license to overindulge. Fat should made up on 30 percent or less of your total calories.
7. Thou Shalt Get the Right Vitamins an Minerals. The top three stress fighters are vitamin C, the B-Complex vitamins, and magnesium. Vitamin C, by boosting your immune system, helps you fight back when stress hits. The best sources of vitamin C are dark green vegetables (like spinach and broccoli), strawberries, and citrus fruits. The B-Complex vitamins provide added energy to help fight battle fatigue. B-Complex vitamins include thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and vitamins B6 and B12 are found in a wide variety of foods, including poultry, whole grains and some vegetables. We tend to lose magnesium when we're stressed, and foods high in magnesium, like nuts, beans and whole grains, can help replace lost supplies.
So, that's it gang. This info is from 1 1/2 pages of a 423 page book that is packed with tips on how to deal with menopause, which we all will face or have faced at some point in our lives. I highly recommend it to any of you who are "there" and certainly many of you probably know that Prevention magazine is really quite the publication and a great source of healthy information to us all. No affiliation, just a very long term subscriber.
Sorry this was so long, wonder if any of you have read to this point? : ) A great deal of typing for me today!
Linda in NH
Hello everyone. I'm back from a crazy weekend. DH and I visited a friend Friday night and came home in time for bed Saturday night. Then I went to my mother's yesterday and got home around bedtime. So, there was a lot of eating out this past weekend. I tried to make good choices, but it is difficult when you don't know for sure how the food will be prepared. Like, I got the Santa Fe salad from Arby's for lunch yesterday (no time to research, just ended up there after church). When I got home and was journaling last night, I discovered that it is 12 pts! More than twice the other two salads I had to choose between! Oops!
Luckily, my mother was cooking from her garden last night, so I had fresh tomatos, cucumbers, green beans, squash. All yummy in the tummy!
Linda - I hope Jamie enjoys the new game. Maybe I should find DH one. He would be active and learn how to dance!
Although I am just now catching up and didn't know about the challenge, I did treat myself to something special anyway! My mother does my hair and I finally went for the shorter cut and new color that I wanted. It is about 5 inches shorter and still below my shoulders, but it is the shortest it has been since I grew hair! I LOVE it. It's bouncier and very cute! I'm definately enjoying it.
Hi Melanie, Isn't it just a nightmare when you get home after a fab meal and work out the points values, especially when it's a salad! Good on you with the new image too, I keep trying to sort out my new style to go with my loss, but I never seem to look any different to me. I guess a big shopping trip would sort that out!!
Linda, my journal for yesterday and my 15 points was pretty straight forward. I very rarely use as few points as this, usually, I'm struggling to stay within my 20 points, although I have to say that when I dropped from 22 to 20, It wasn't half as hard as I expected it to be. My leader told me that to start with, not to worry if I occasionally went a point over, but I never really found it a problem. Of course, some days I think I could do with about 50 points instead of 20!
So, my journal yesterday, breakfast=40g crunchy nut cornflakes with skimmed milk 3.5pts
small glass orange juice 1 pt
lunch = 6 x melba toasts (yummy - my favourite snack at the mo)
half a tiny tub of extra light philadelphia cheese .5pts
6 slices wafer thin ham .5 pts
a small apple .5 pts and a small cereal bar 1.5 pts
Dinner = small amount of chicken 2 pts
a few tiny potatoes 1pt
salad with tomatoes 0pts
WW mayo 1pt
Snack = 1 bag of Spudz 2 pts I think thats actually a total or 14.5 pts, so less than I thought, but I certainly didn't skimp on any food at all. I also drank 5 glasses of water. I do try to get to 8 a day, (really I do!) but hardly ever manage it. I'm sure that the water helps alot in the weight loss, but I really have no idea why! Is it just because it fills us up, or maybe helps our bodies function better? Who knows! Either way, I miss it when I don't have it now, so it must be doing something.
Anyway, that's quite enough typing for today, I've spent all day ironing and washing all the clothes from the holiday, are there any bonus points in ironing? if not, there should be, I'm shattered! (do you call bonus points flexi points? The one's from working out and wearing ourselves out!)
Ok, I'm off now once and for all, See ya,
Dawn x
Last edited by dawnydw; 06-28-2004 at 11:07 AM.
Reason: spell check
Dawn, thanks for sharing that 15 point day! I may "need" a day like that after today's ww meeting and weigh in. I'm kind of dreading it, but I need to "face the music". Last week was myu 20th wedding anniversary and the "celebrations" just kept on to a week-long thing vs. just one day, I'm afraid. Also, there was a party at a quilt group that I go to, I kind of "lost it" during the week and really tried to make up for it, but I think I will have a gain today, sadly.
In the last two or three days, though, I was on the treadmill, stayed in my points range and drank tons of water. I felt good, but the scale has NOT cooperated, oh well. It's going to all come off for next week's weigh in, I think?
I often think that what I am eating this week doesn't really show up until the following week as far as my weight is concerned. Oh well.
Will post after the weigh in later.
Linda
Good luck for the WI Linda, I haven't much to report today, except two very welcome comments from my patients, one liked my longer hair, which made me feel better about my dodgy style, and one from a patient I met in the street, who said I had lost weight, that one made me feel alot better! It's compliments like that that make it all worthwhile, and keep me going!
Anyway, got to fly, little AJ has come home from nursery with a temperature and needs all my love tonight!
See ya later
Dawn x
Let's support each other on our weight loss journey!
Monday morning update
